He took it out, set the box aside, then lifted her left hand. “This is one more beginning for us.”

“I’m looking forward to the rest of them.”

He slipped the ring on her finger. There was a little buzz of heat, then a lovely spread of warmth where the gold circled her finger. “It’s beautiful. It even fits.”

“Yeah? None of us knew your ring size, so that’s a bonus.” He turned her hand, watched the stone sparkle. “It looks good on you.”

She rose to her toes, took his mouth with hers. “You’re so full of surprises.”

“You’ve got that right. I might as well tell you the next one. I bought—or I’m buying—Warrior’s Peak.”

She blinked twice, very slowly. “Sorry. I thought you said you were buying the Peak.”

“That’s right. I want us to live there. I want us to make a family there.”

“You . . .” Though her knees wobbled, she didn’t give in and sit down again. “You’re not going back to New York?”

“Of course I’m not going back to New York.” Bafflement moved over his face. “How the hell am I supposed to be married to you and live in New York while you run a business in the Valley? Dana.”

“I thought . . . It’s where you live.”

He cupped her chin, unsure if he was impatient or amused. “You think I’d ask you to move to New York, throw away your store before it even gets started? I was never planning to go back there to live anyway, but if I had been, this would’ve changed it.”

“You weren’t going back?”

“No. There was a time when I had to leave. This was the time when I had to come back. I need to be here. I need to be with you.”

“I would’ve gone with you,” she managed. “I want points for that.”

“We’re not going anywhere. If the Peak doesn’t suit you, we’ll—”

“You’re just trying to get points back.” Overcome, she laughed and threw her arms around him. “You know it suits me. God, this is fantastic. It’s amazing. But please tell me that’s the last surprise. My head’s going to spin right off my shoulders.”

“That’s pretty much it for now.”

“Let’s get dressed, get over to Flynn’s.” She pressed her hands palm to palm and stared at her ring. “I can’t wait to tell everyone.”

“Flynn and Brad already know.”

“Men.” She flicked them away with a wave as she walked into the bedroom. “They don’t know anything. Boy, oh, boy, wait until Malory and Zoe get a load of this ring! I’ve got to find a really cool outfit to set it off.”

“I like the one you’re wearing now.”

She shot a look over her shoulder before she dived into her closet. “See? Men don’t know anything.”

Chapter Eighteen

WHEN Moe dragged Flynn into the house, they heard the single, high-pitched scream. Moe bared his teeth, Flynn bared his, and they raced toward the kitchen prepared to taste blood.

Malory stood in the center of the room, her hands crossed over her heart, laughing like an idiot.

“Where is he? What did he do? Son of a bitch.”

“Who?” Malory braced herself for Moe’s leap of love but wasn’t prepared to have Flynn lift her off her feet. “What?”

“You were screaming.”

“Oh. Okay, Moe, down you go. Flynn, put me down. I’m fine, I’m perfectly fine.” Other than the fact that she was flushed with embarrassment and trying not to giggle. “I thought I was alone.”

Reaction set in and made Flynn short of breath. He dropped Malory back on her feet with a little thump as his arms started to tremble. “You stand in the kitchen and scream when you think you’re alone?”

“Well, not usually. But look! Just look.” She did a fast-time step, followed by a neat little pirouette.

Clueless, Flynn tried again. “You’ve realized you want to fulfill a childhood dream and become a dancing star of stage and screen?”

“No!” With a laugh, she whirled Flynn into a circle that had Moe leaping again. “Look. We have a floor. A wonderful, beautiful hardwood floor.”

She executed what Flynn thought might be some sort of clog dance. “Sounds like wood, all right.”

“No more ugly linoleum for us. And look at this!” She whirled away from him and embraced the glossy new side-by-side refrigerator with the passion of a woman greeting a lover returning from the war. “Isn’t it wonderful? And see how it matches this?”

While Flynn watched, she spun to the range.

“It’s so beautiful.” She crooned it now. “So shiny and clean. And everything works. I tried all the buttons and dials, and it works! I actually can’t wait to cook something. I walked in, saw all this, and I just had to scream. They put in the floor, Flynn, and brought in the appliances. See the new microwave?”

“Very sexy.”

“It is.” Whirling into a dance again, she tried out a rhumba. “And we have pretty new cabinets with pretty glass fronts. I’m going to put pretty dishes in them, and sparkly glasses. It’s a kitchen. An actual kitchen.”

He was getting it now, and the charge of watching her revel. She’d switched from the rhumba to . . . he wasn’t sure what. But she looked really cute. “What was it before?”

“There is no name for what it was before. I’m so happy. I’m so grateful. You’re the most wonderful man in the world.” She caught his face in her hands and kissed him. “And I’m a terrible person.”

“Why? Not the ‘I’m wonderful’ part, because, hey. But why are you a terrible person?”

“Because I wouldn’t move in with you before you did this. I made the kitchen a kind of exchange. Remodel the kitchen and I’ll live with you. It was selfish. It worked,” she added, raining kisses over his face. “But it was selfish. You’re doing this for me. I know I said I wouldn’t move in until it was finished, and I even made snarky comments about the lamps up in the bedroom.”

“Something about not being fit to light a cave inhabited by bats and blind spiders.”

“Yes, that was one of them. Anyway, forgive me?”